Review: One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest

2019 CHALLENGE: 1 YOU HAVEN'T READ THAT YET?! PER MONTH 07 / 12

4 stars. A month ago I was cursing my book challenge because I was like three books behind and feeling the pressure. I'm SO glad I pushed myself to keep going. This is exactly why I wanted to do this challenge, because there are so many books out there that I wouldn't necessarily reach for but need to read. And One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest is such a game changer.

This is a story told from the perspective of a patient in a mental institution. He is Native American, schizophrenic, and incredibly observant. (Seriously - this is one of the strongest narrative voices I've ever encountered.) He spends his days cleaning the floors under the watchful eye of the person in charge, a stern and oppressive woman named Nurse Ratched.

One day, there's a break in the monotony: a new patient arrives. To the shock and bewilderment of the patients and the staff, McMurphy is loud, brash, prideful, funny, charming, and determined to bring chaos to the strict order of the hospital. He latches onto Nurse Ratched, and the entire book tracks their spiraling battle toward a (sorry for the cliche) devastating conclusion.

“All I know is this: nobody's very big in the first place, and it looks to me like everybody spends their whole life tearing everybody else down.”

It's not necessarily an easy read, if that makes sense. It feels like something I'd need to read for school. It's thick and abstract and full of allegories and metaphors and triggers the tingly sensation that you're reading something with meaning. It explores huge, giant themes and feels way ahead of its time. It's a grand exploration of sanity, madness, chaos, order, society, power, expectation, repression, rules, rebellion, life, and death. I'm obsessed with the fact that I read this right after reading Fight Club. The two go hand-in-hand.

Other excellent things: each character is distinct and complex and full. Each patient suffers from his own specific ailment and acts accordingly on the page. The narrator undergoes an incredibly satisfying transformation. There's a tremendous sequence involving a jailbreak and an act of piracy. And the writing is incredible, and fair.

One not-so-excellent thing: the racist and misogynist undertones. I'm docking a star in honor of Nurse Ratched's wonderful breasts, which should never have been a defining characteristic of her identity as a villain. There's something really gross about the fact that the only female characters in this book are either completely evil or sex workers.

Still, everyone should read this book. No wonder it's a classic.

One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest on: Amazon | Goodreads

Review: Fight Club

2019 CHALLENGE: 1 YOU HAVEN'T READ THAT YET?! PER MONTH 06 / 12

5 stars. Fight Club is spoken about with such reverence and now I understand why. I understand why it peppers the millennial landscape. I see why it resonates with readers in such a profoundly powerful way. It literally inspires action.

It takes an entire generation’s scream and segments it into something articulate and corporeal. I’m so deeply impressed and confused and curious. What is this? What did I just read? Why do I feel like someone opened me up, poked around, and sewed me back up wrong?

It’s a short book, and written with a sharp, deadpan voice. Our narrator finds himself at the center of a male-driven cultural movement that begins with little rebellions - tampering with rich people’s food, for example, and secretly beating the shit out of each other in bar basements - and ends with total chaos.

It’s about seeking genuine connection amid the cogs and gears of the machine, it’s about returning to your roots as a human being, and it’s about eradicating the bullshit. It’s about angst, and regret, and restlessness, and masculinity.

I can’t stop thinking about something that has stuck with me over the years: first of all, hi, nice to meet you, my entire education revolved around standardized testing. Later in high school, when I was scheduled to take one the of the mandated exams - the SOLs, the AP test, maybe - I came across a news article about how students across the country were writing “THIS IS SPARTA” in the middle of their essays (this was the late 2000’s and 300 was like The Thing). I loved that idea. Harmless, hilarious, but a way to take back control, if only for one second.

Now it’s REALLY going to stick with me.

I don’t want Flight Club to be prophetic, but it may have already proven itself as such. And honestly, I found myself drawn toward Project Mayhem - nodding along with Tyler’s declarations, eager to know what’s next, feeling more alive with every sentence. It has a very prominent dude smell, which I kind of hate, but it really is incredible.

So, so happy I read this. It’s insane.

Fight Club on: Amazon | Goodreads

Review: The Return of the King

2019 CHALLENGE: 1 RE-READ PER MONTH 07 / 12

5 stars. I keep recalling the time when someone close to me said that the first time he read the Lord of the Rings, he ended up reading at stoplights. This was when the books were first published. This person is gone, but thinking about that makes me smile.

What a classic, imaginative, incredible, accomplished piece of writing. So much invention. It goes so deep and wide! I love that Tolkien never loses his playful tone. I'm going to make an effort to re-read these more often and more carefully. They're like delicious brain food.

I know this story very well; by heart, even. But I still felt breathless during the battles and nervous before the end. It has a really weird ending, but I loved the Appendices. And the maps. We are so lucky to have this story. I feel honored to have walked side-by-side with these resilient characters.

I mentioned in my review of the first book that I'm aware of the imperfections. There are clearly some issues and as many, many, many have said - the writing style is not for everyone. But I'd recommend this to anyone thirsty for foundation fantasy. It's worth it.

Re-reading these books has also given me a new appreciation for the film adaptations - I had no idea that they pulled so much (so much language, so many direct quotes) from the text. And I also completely support their narrative adjustments and just LOVE THEM EVEN MORE NOW.

I wish I could choose just one passage, or one component, and go crazy. I want to write twenty pages on the Madness of Denethor, thirty on orcs. I want to do a deep dive into Ent lore and how Tolkien aggressively demands respect for trees. I want to pick apart Eowyn's fears and flaws.

These books inspire obsession, so watch out.

On to the next, reluctantly.

The Return of the King on: Amazon | Goodreads

Review: The Two Towers

2019 CHALLENGE: 1 RE-READ PER MONTH 06 / 12

5 stars. Blindingly wonderful. Honestly, team Samwise all the way. This was his book.

Favorite moments:

1. Treebeard burn:

"He is plotting to become a Power. He has a mind of metal and wheels; and he does not care for growing things, except as far as they serve him for the moment."

2. On feeling out of your depth:

"And here he was a little halfling from the Shire, a simple hobbit of the quiet countryside, expected to find a way where the great ones could not go, or dared not go. It was an evil fate. But he had taken it on himself in his own sitting-room in the far-off spring of another year, so remote now that it was like a chapter in a story of the world’s youth, when the Trees of Silver and Gold were still in bloom. This was an evil choice. Which way should he choose? And if both led to terror and death, what good lay in choice?"

3. On the importance of sleep:

“Sam drew a deep breath. ‘An Oliphaunt it was!’ he said. ‘So there are Oliphaunts, and I have seen one. What a life! But no one at home will ever believe me. Well, if that’s over, I’ll have a bit of sleep.’"

4. Told you this was Sam's book:

"Sam did not wait to wonder what was to be done, or whether he was brave, or loyal, or filled with rage. He sprang forward with a yell, and seized his master’s sword in his left hand. Then he charged. No onslaught more fierce was ever seen in the savage world of beasts, where some desperate small creature armed with little teeth, alone, will spring upon a tower of horn and hide that stands above its fallen mate."

The Two Towers on: Amazon | Goodreads

Review: The Fellowship of the Ring

2019 CHALLENGE: 1 RE-READ PER MONTH 05 / 12

5 stars. Simply. Perfect. I don't think I can write a review of this. It's too challenging to communicate how lucky I feel visiting Middle Earth again.

Favorite moments:

1. The Black Rider sniffing for the ring. What a badass detail.

"The riding figure sat quite still with its head bowed, as if listening. From inside the hood came a noise as of someone sniffing to catch an elusive scent; the head turned from side to side of the road."

2. Tom Bombadil.

"He then told them many remarkable stories, sometimes half as if speaking to himself, sometimes looking at them suddenly with a bright blue eye under his deep brows. Often his voice would turn to song, and he would get out of his chair and dance about. He told them tales of bees and flowers, the ways of trees, and the strange creatures of the Forest, about the evil things and good things, things friendly and things unfriendly, cruel things and kind things, and secrets hidden under brambles."

3. Reading this and picturing the scariest movie moment of my childhood.

"To his distress and amazement he found that he was no longer looking at Bilbo; a shadow seemed to have fallen between them, and through it he found himself eyeing a little wrinkled creature with a hungry face and bony groping hands. He felt a desire to strike him."

4. Lothlorien.

“As soon as he set foot upon the far bank of Silverlode a strange feeling had come upon him, and it deepened as he walked on into the Naith: it seemed to him that he had stepped over a bridge of time into a corner of the Elder Days, and was now walking in a world that was no more. In Rivendell there was memory of ancient things; in Lórien the ancient things still lived on in the waking world. Evil had been seen and heard there, sorrow had been known; the Elves feared and distrusted the world outside: wolves were howling on the wood’s borders: but on the land of Lórien no shadow lay."

5. When Boromir tries to take the ring and it feels shocking and inevitable at the same time.

"‘Ah! The Ring!’ said Boromir, his eyes lighting. ‘The Ring! Is it not a strange fate that we should suffer so much fear and doubt for so small a thing?"

So good.

Per internet tradition, it seems that this book is a bit polarizing and people either love it or hate it (like ... to the death). I acknowledge that the writing is dull in places; that the black-and-white depiction of good versus evil is problematic; that there are sexist undertones; that the worldbuilding occasionally hurtles beyond playful into pretentious territory; etc etc. I recognize its flaws but feel as though its merits outweigh them.

All that stuff aside, I don't know what took me so long to pick up these books again. The escape offered here is of immeasurable value, to me. I want to crawl into the world of these words and curl up there forever.

The Fellowship of the Ring on: Amazon | Goodreads

Review: Interview with the Vampire

2019 CHALLENGE: 1 YOU HAVEN'T READ THAT YET?! PER MONTH 05 / 12

3 stars. This is a beautiful, classic vampire tale - very sensual, philosophical and romantic. It's not an effortless read, as the writing is substantial and dense. But it's compelling, in its own way, and gives life to some of the most intriguing, interesting characters in vampire literature. I tried to imagine reading this when it had first debuted - before mopey Brad Pitt - and it struck me how innocently Anne Rice employs the unexpected (the interview concept, a child vampire, a blatant homoerotic flavor) to keep you turning pages. It's pillowy and rock hard at the same time.

Interview with the Vampire is Louis' story: his early life as a mortal in New Orleans, his transition into vampire, the chaotic confusion that followed, and eventually, the unsteady awakening of his immortal identity. He describes in great detail his birth, his clumsy grasps for family (including the shallow, electric Lestat and the cold child vampire Claudia) and his startling and devastating encounter with others of his own kind. It's a bit of an epic, spanning decades and soaring from the tapestry of New Orleans to the sparkly light and deep darkness of Paris.

The central focus of this novel is Louis' internal struggle to reconcile who he is with what he is. He is seduced by Lestat and transformed with little knowledge of what he has become, leaving him with questions and infinite time to contemplate them. He believes killing to be the ultimate sin, and spends most of the novel trying to avoid it or hating himself for it. His conscience - his "passion" - is unique among vampires and they find his self-loathing both strange and attractive. He questions the nature of "evil" and its spiritual, or human, origins. I really enjoyed this exploration; a refreshingly slow take on vampire mythology.

That said, it's a bit ... emo. The way he talks is very melodramatic and a bit annoying - I wanted a break from it after awhile. Louis is straight-up sugar - too rich for me. I wanted more Lestat, more Armand, more Celeste, more PEPPER. And more gay stuff! I know the homoerotic tones are strong here, but they kept talking about love but "not physical love of course," to which I'm like [JOHN CENA VOICE] are you sure about that??! I know it gets less subtle as the series continues, which I applaud. 

So here we are, with the dreaded three stars. I liked it, I wasn't totally blown away, I sort of had to muscle my way through it despite its short length. I'm really into Anne Rice though, I love her rock opera way of writing. That's reflected in the movie adaptation, I think, along with the heavy angst (hence mopey Pitt). Ultimately I'm thrilled to have read this for my reading challenge because it was a MUST. READ. I loved reading it so soon after Dracula. I hope it continues to carve its own pathways within the vampire canon.

Interview with the Vampire on: Amazon | Goodreads

Review: Dracula

2019 CHALLENGE: 1 RE-READ PER MONTH 04 / 12  

5 stars. Hello there! It's been awhile. Several things happened in life this month: 1. reading slump 2. puppy 3. new Kindle, which took awhile to get used to. I'm behind but I'm going with the flow. And the good news is, I really enjoyed re-reading Dracula.I wrote about 4 billion words on it in college but I hadn't read it for FUN since I was maybe ... 12? I was in the mood for something like this: long, eerie, Gothic, old school.

Three things really struck me about Dracula, this time: One - my impression of this book is really tangled with my impression of the Coppola adaptation. I actually love that film, I love the aesthetics and the performances (yes, even Keanu!), but I thought I'd be able to separate from them in reading. Not so, apparently. Which was fine; definitely made the reading experience a little unusual.

Two - this book could use some editing. I see now that The Historian felt so bogged down and slow to me because it pulled from the flavor of the original. There are parts that sing (Harker's experience in the castle; the mountain chase at the end), but there are incredibly slow parts as the characters try to figure out - ON PAPER - what the heck they are dealing with. I care about the vampire, not about his "child-brain" or whatever. I care about his demise, not which river he took to get home.

Three - OH THE MELODRAMA! I kept rolling my eyes at the extreme emotion of it all - the love for Lucy, the love for Mina, the swooning, the practically spiritual way they all worshiped and praised each other. Characters "overcome" left and right. Even for a Victorian novel, there were so many tears and promises and feelings - from men more than women, which is interesting. Obviously there are a ton of ways to interpret the role of women in this book and there are a ton of papers written about that. It's complicated. But I was really taken aback by the amount of detail dedicated to the male characters' seemingly hysterical reactions to everything.

Truly though, this is a masterpiece. It's rich and brilliant and perfect to study. There's so much to unpack about what was feared and admired in Victorian times, and how each character explores and embodies those themes. I'm fascinated by the way mental health and sanity played a part, as well as desire and religion and spirituality and old vs new. So many delicious ingredients!

I'm so happy that my reading challenge took me in this direction. My house has been chewed up by an 8-week old corgi, my new Kindle has Wi-Fi issues, I haven't "felt like reading in awhile" (which means I'm deathly ill, probably), but I really enjoyed sinking into the Carpathian mountains when I could. What can I say? Vampires interest me, and this one is the OG.

Dracula on: Amazon | Goodreads

Review: Ghost Story

2019 CHALLENGE: 1 YOU HAVEN'T READ THAT YET?! PER MONTH 04 / 12

4 stars. As a humble student of horror, I couldn’t give this anything less, but it was hard to get through. Ghost Story is a classic, and therefore it feels like one - long, a bit meandering, successful but due for some editing. I didn't realize what a tribute this would be, full of references to the masters and their masterpieces. Hawthorne, Poe, James, Stoker, King, Bradbury … the gang’s all here!

To go into the plot would definitely unravel the experience prematurely; I suggest going in blind.

But I can’t resist giving some reactions. My thoughts:

Ricky - this adorable, cold-stricken, brave old man, I adore him.
Peter - he snuck up on me in the best way. I’m humbled by him.
The Town of Milburn - I mean Derry - I mean Milburn - I love it when the setting becomes a character.
The Sheriff’s Scene in the Prison with the Bodies - CHILLS.
The Evil with Attitude - YAAAAS!!
The Slow Tugging of Threads - masterful. The sense of dread is so important and wonderful.

I’d recommend this if you like horror tropes, like small towns, multiple points of view, evil blizzards, complicated heroes, an exploration of appearance versus reality through tingly terror. I was really intrigued by the beginning, and although the creative jazz faded a bit by the end, I was still engaged. I still cared. And loved, loved, loved the ending. Fans of King will love this book.

Warning, though: like I said, it’s a bit long - a bit superfluous. And honestly, there’s something about the way women are depicted that makes me uncomfortable. This is a real sausage fest to begin with, but something about it feels old school, in a bad way. The few female characters are either … well … the options aren’t good.

But here we are, at 4 stars, I’m so glad I read this, I feel full and productive and eager for more horror, as always. I SHOULD HAVE READ IT SOONER, but that’s why it was on my 2019 challenge list.

Ghost Story on: Amazon | Goodreads

Review: What Was She Thinking? [Notes on a Scandal]

2019 CHALLENGE: 1 RE-READ PER MONTH 03 / 12

5 stars. I LOVE THIS BOOK. This was my third re-read and I couldn't put it down. It always sends tingles down my spine in the best way. Smart, accessible, darkly funny.

It essentially tells the story of a student-teacher affair through the eyes of an abhorrent, deeply unreliable narrator. Barbara Covett is her name, Covett being a clever twist on her voyeuristic, overwhelming desire to ... control, be noticed by, be consumed by, be desired by the target of her obsession. She is an arrogant, pretentious stalker who happens to fixate on the lovely and naive Sheba Hart, a new art teacher at her school. When Sheba embarks on a dangerous and elicit affair with a student, Barbara utilizes the situation to her advantage until everything explodes in a disastrous and life-altering climax.

I just LOVE THIS BOOK. It checks all the boxes for me: unreliable narrator, snappy British writing, scandalous details about a tantalizing affair, deep exploration of the female identity, comprehensive exploration of the female identify including how foolhardy and clueless and selfish and competitive women can be, repressed homosexuality, fierce and bold emphasis on appearance versus reality, crisp, page-turning prose, the list goes on. 

And Barbara, oh Barbara, what a beautiful character. So fucking critical of everyone. She's so transparent it makes me laugh, out loud. How often do you suspect that someone is a creepy hypocrite and get an unlimited peek behind the curtain to confirm? Constantly accusing others of self-deception and playing the victim and she's the worst offender. Nobody - nobody - is safe from her zingers. Actually, I tend to see a little bit of Barbara in all of us, mentally putting others down, reading and re-reading and over-analyzing and judging other people. We all take a bit of comfort building our own illusions and living in them.

(Pay close attention, because there are other little lessons like that embedded in these pages. Lessons about marriage and monogamy and children and friendship and female friendship and aging and sex.) 

I think part of the brilliance, too, is that Barbara rather honestly depicts how people react to her, and does so indignantly. Can you believe he said that? Can you believe he treated me in such a manner? As though outrage is the only acceptable reaction. Ironically, by depicting these interactions so honestly we are able to see the truth - that she's actually awful. We see this through her attempts to obscure it, through her lack of self-awareness.

I could go on and on and on. The movie adaptation is also fantastic if you're interested in a less darkly humorous version of the story. Truth be told I can't picture anyone but Cate Blanchett and Judi Dench in the roles of Sheba and Barbara, even if I try. This is just a truly amazing story - an incredible character study and a genius piece of writing with a sick ending. I can't wait to re-read it again.

Clever and nasty is what this book is. Clever and nasty.

What Was She Thinking? [Notes on a Scandal] on: Amazon | Goodreads

Review: Jurassic Park

2019 CHALLENGE: 1 YOU HAVEN'T READ THAT YET?! PER MONTH 03 / 12

4 stars. This was so awesome. My heart is still pounding! 

I can't believe I haven't read this before, which makes it perfect for my 2019 challenge. Jurassic Park is one of my favorite movies of all time (I say that like it's weird - is there anyone who doesn't love Jurassic Park?!), but I didn't expect that reading this would lend so much interesting context and perspective to the A+ premise.

I'm not even sure what I can say about this, other than holy shit, dinosaurs are so cool. Even after personally witnessing how scary and terrible they can be, I can't promise that if I had the ability to clone/create them/bring them back from extinction, I wouldn't. I totally perceive the dangers of hubris and greed but COME ON! DINOSAURS! <- I will be the downfall of the human race.

Docking a star for some outdated stuff, including sexism, mild racism and fat-shaming, plus the preachy speeches from Dr. Malcolm (he wasn't wrong, but he was super annoying). The movie essentially corrects all of this and improves on some of the superfluous plot points. Otherwise, this is a suspenseful, scientific masterpiece. I will read this aloud to my kids. 

Jurassic Park on: Amazon | Goodreads